This year has been 'difficult' for university applicants

This year has been difficult for people who are hoping to secure a place at university, it has been claimed.

Janette Wallis, senior editor at the Good Schools Guide, said it has been a particularly hard time because there is an added pressure on students to secure a place before fees increase in 2012.

"There has been a desperate edge to everyone's bid to secure university places. People who might have taken gap years, in many cases have decided not to this year, so there have been a huge number of applicants [to universities]," she explained.

"The good news is that next year, it will probably be easier but the tuition fees will be so much higher. The effect of the increase in tuition fees is unknown."

She noted that there has been a rise in the number of students applying to overseas universities because it has become so difficult to get a place in the UK.

"We are now including on the Good Schools Guide website information and reviews of universities abroad because we've had so many guys asking about it. [They have] wanted to know how to get into overseas universities, how funding works and whether it is affordable so we've now started to research that and provide information on that," Ms Wallis added.

The UCAS website crashed last week due to unprecedented demand from students searching for courses.

According to the BBC, 192,000 people will enter clearing this year, representing a 7,000 increase compared to the previous year.

Speaking last week, universities minister David Willets advised anyone who is unable to secure a place to stay calm and remember that they can apply for a place in 2012 if they are unsuccessful this time round.